Irrigation systems have been employed for many years to distribute water and fertilizer to areas in which crops are grown. A particular type of irrigation system, known as the pivot irrigation system, includes a central tower about which a rotatable arm pivots or rotates at an elevated position with respect to the ground. A conduit extends along the rotatable arm and radiates outwardly from the central tower. Water is sprayed or otherwise distributed from the conduit, typically at various points along the conduit.
In an existing implementation, the operation of the pivot irrigation system is based on the angular positions of the rotatable arm, which is often determined by a sensor disposed on or in the central tower and is configured to detect movements or angular positions of the rotatable arm relative to a reference angular position such as, for example, due north (i.e., 0 degrees from north). Thus, as the rotatable arm pivots and the angular position of the rotatable arm changes, different operations of the pivot irrigation system may be initiated, adjusted, or terminated.
Other existing implementations have attempted to utilize Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to determine the orientation of the rotatable arm using one or more GPS antenna/receiver units. However, such systems tend to be complex with respect to construction and implementation, particularly since existing GPS-based solutions also require determination of the angular orientation of the rotatable arm relative to a pre-programmed center pivot location. Specifically, some existing solutions involve constantly recalculating the current angular orientation, or azimuth, of the rotatable arm based on the coordinates of the central pivot location and the coordinates from a GPS receiver mounted on one of the towers, and comparing the current azimuth to a plurality of known azimuths associated with predetermined irrigation actions. Accordingly, such solutions do not readily lend themselves to remote monitoring or control of the irrigation system.
Further, existing solutions typically utilize monitoring and programming operations that must be performed or changed in the field rather than, e.g., from a central control location. Such location-situational programming may be inconvenient, particularly for operators that are responsible for managing multiple irrigation systems.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a solution that would overcome the challenges noted above.